Roadworks uncover forgotten Leeds tramway

Excavation work on a main Leeds road has uncovered a fascinating glimpse into the area's past.

Northern Gas Networks are currently working to upgrade the gas distribution pipelines on Chapeltown Road.

Rusting tram tracks are visible during excavation work

And their digging has exposed rusting rails belonging to a forgotten section of the city's old tram system.

The tracks were part of a 'spur' - a short branch of the main route from the city centre to Chapeltown, Roundhay and Moortown.

It originally ran in and out of Harehills Avenue to Reginald Terrace, where the services would terminate.

However, the spur was shut several decades before the entire Leeds tram network closed in 1959, possibly because there was little demand for it.

It is believed the branch line stopped operating in either the 1920s or 30s.

A map of the tram network in 1945 shows that it was already disused by the end of the war, and that there were two planned link tracks from Chapeltown across to Harehills which were never constructed, but which could have extended the spur line.